Errol Spence Jr will end three years of inactivity in July when he faces Tim Tszyu in Australia.

The main event will be the first time Spence bounces back from defeatafter a final loss to Terence Crawford in 2023 for the undisputed welterweight title.

Due to the nature of this loss and past injuries, many believed Spence’s time as a player was over and expected a retirement announcement rather than confirmation of a return.

Despite concerns that he would no longer be the same elite fighter – a concern Spence admitted he shares – the former unified champion was preparing for an even tougher test than Tszyu.

A conversation with former opponent Shawn Porter FOX SportsSpence confirmed that the long-rumored clash with Sebastian Fundora is at the top of his hit list.

“[Tszyu] wasn’t the best I could get. I’m not crazy, but I’m not ruling anything out. So I looked at Fundora, I looked at the top names.

“I’m the type of guy who really doesn’t believe in ring rust. If I look good in the gym for nine, 10 weeks, why can’t I look good in a fight? It’s a mental thing… I feel like coming to fight night and showing everyone that ring rust doesn’t exist. It doesn’t concern me at all.

WBC super welterweight champion Fundora has been openly discussing a fight with Spence, and several rumors have come and gone over the past twelve months. Instead, “The Towering Inferno” faced Keith Thurman in March, retaining the belt until a sixth-round stoppage.

If Spence beats Tszyu and looks good doing it, he may want to re-enter the talks. His return will be set at a catchweight of 158 pounds with the possibility of dropping to 154 pounds.

Teddy Atlas named him the best welterweight fighter of all time, ahead of fighters such as Floyd Mayweather and Terence Crawford.

Mayweather and Crawford are viewed by many as two of the best 147-pound fighters in history, with Mayweather scoring huge victories over the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley, and Crawford notably defeated Errol Spence to become the undisputed champion.

Despite these accolades, Atlas believes that neither Mayweather nor Crawford deserves the number one spot as the greatest welterweight fighter in history. revealed on his YouTube channel that I give this honor to Sugar Ray Robinson.

“[He] might be the greatest fighter of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson. 173 wins, 19 defeats, most of them in elderly age, six draws, 108 knockouts. That’s a lot of knockouts. That’s a lot of fighting.

“He had a 91-fight unbeaten streak – that’s pretty good. Those losses, like I said, most of them came when he was elderly, well beyond his best. Welter and the middleweight champion, he would also win the lightweight heavyweight title.

“He fought [Joey Maxim] at Yankee Stadium it was about 30 degrees outside in the ring on a summer night in June. The referee had been carried out early because of the heat, carried out of the ring – it was so scorching, it was so brutal.

“I don’t remember what round it was, it was a very tardy round [13] and Robinson fell. He had the advantage in the fight, he was going to win the lightweight heavyweight title, but he collapsed from heat exhaustion, just as the referee had done four or five rounds earlier.

It’s certainly challenging to argue with Atlas’s assessment that Robinson was world welterweight champion for five years, from 1946 to 1951, during which he had a remarkable 91-fight unbeaten streak.

At one point he had recorded 129 wins in 132 fights, scoring 85 knockouts along the way, before finally hanging up his gloves in 1965, winning 174 of 201 fights, clearly demonstrating why so many rightly held him in such high regard.

Sanchez comes into the fight after a 15-month layoff with ongoing questions about a knee problem that surfaced before his knockout loss to Agit Kabayel. Inactivity would already be a problem for a heavyweight with a lot of movement. Add to that the run, injuries and the lack of a significant opponent since the defeat, and the timing starts to look precarious for Sanchez.

His returning opponent, Ramon Olivas Echeverria, entered with an 18-24 record. This wasn’t a rebuilding fight against a live opponent. It was maintenance work.

Torrez sees an opportunity. Many “slick” heavyweights look untouchable until someone stops admiring the move and simply forces trades. Kabayel revealed this plan against Sanchez. He attacked the body, stayed there and turned the fight into a grind instead of a chess match.

Then the mystery quickly disappeared. Torrez believes he can do the same with a different type of pressure. Faster feet. More feints. Greater impact volume. More chaos.

“I’m going to overwhelm him and take him to those deep waters that I love,” Torrez Jr. said. for Fight Hub TV.

This phrase sounds less like a promotion and more like a game plan built around erosion.

Torrez talked about conditioning multiple times during the interview. He said he believed he had the best gas tank in the heavyweight division and took the fight back to the delayed rounds. Seventh. Eighth. Ninth. This is usually a sign that the fighter believes his opponent is physically weakening. And why wouldn’t he do it?

Sanchez is now 32 years senior. The legs already looked defenseless against Kabayel. Heavyweight fighters who rely on exercise rarely age gracefully after injury. A bad knee changes everything about this style. The gap disappears. Escape routes are disappearing. Suddenly, the “skillful” fighter stands still long enough to be struck repeatedly in the arms, chest and body. This is the fight Torrez wants.

Sanchez fans will still cite his amateur pedigree and victory over Efe Ajagba, but those evenings now seem far away. Heavyweight boxing changes rapidly as activity declines and the body begins to break down.